NBA Power Rankings: Dwight Howard and 10 Defensive Player of the Year Candidates
Dwight Howard is the most dominant defensive force in the NBA, the prohibitive favorite to win his third straight Defensive Player of the Year Award, but he's not without good company.
There's a lot of locking up and clamping down in the league these days, as five of the seven best teams place in the top six in Defensive Efficiency, as measured by ESPN's John Hollinger.
Great team defense is about buying into a concept, understanding a system, rotating with precision, and trusting your teammates.
But it often starts with one great defensive player. One great defender can erase others' mistakes, eliminate opponents' first options, and wreak untold havoc on a half-court offense.
Who besides Howard is a gamechanger without the ball in his hands? Who can potentially win a game without even hitting a shot?
Here are your 2010-11 candidates for Defensive Player of the Year:
(Note: For Defensive Rating and Defensive Win Shares, I am using basketball-reference.com.)
10. Andre Iguodala
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The resurgent Philadelphia 76ers and Andre Iguodala have finally figured it out.
Iguodala is a complementary player, not an All-Star, and should be used as such. He should never be a team's first option or the guy asked to carry the load, responsibilities he unsuccessfully tried to assume the last several years.
Optimally, Iggy should be a Tayshaun Prince circa-2004 type: a highly effective, do-it-all, playmaking, occasionally explode on offense, guard the other team's best swingman, glue guy on a championship contender.
The 76ers don't have the other pieces to challenge for a title, but Iguodala has settled into the right role.
Moreover, the scarily athletic small forward has really excelled on defense. Iguodala has capably handled lethal scorers all season long, helping make Philly one of the better defensive teams in the league.
9. Rajon Rondo
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The Celtics are top three in the league in all major team defense statistics, such as points allowed, defensive field goal percentage, and Defensive Efficiency, and Rondo is a large part of that equation.
An incomparably frustrating perimeter pest, Rondo puts incessant on-ball pressure on opposing point guards, disrupting their offensive flow. Possessing some of the league's quickest feet and hands, he is also committed to working hard on defense.
Rondo is fantastic at playing the passing lanes, helping the post, and poking the ball away from dribblers, as evidenced by his 2.25 steals per game, good for second in the NBA.
Rondo finished fifth in DPOY voting last year, and he should command some attention again.
8. Chris Paul
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CP3 is much more than a playmaking whiz, a puppetmaster with the ball in his hands, dictating tempo like a philharmonic conductor.
He's also a phenomenal defender who somehow stays underrated despite leading the league in steals per game in 07-08 and 08-09. Paul again rests atop the leaderboard in that category, averaging 2.36 thefts nightly.
Furthermore, Paul's Hornets are seventh in the league in Defensive Efficiency and fourth in points allowed.
Paul is as much a leader on D as he is on offense. His toughness and fight pervade his teammates, and his ballhawking capabilities get everything started.
Even though he may have lost a step due to knee issues, he makes up for it with intelligence, strength, positioning, and heart.
7. LeBron James
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King James is a beast on the defensive end. His sheer physical advantage makes him a mismatch on both sides of the ball, especially since his somewhat recent decision to take defense seriously.
LeBron steals the rock, blocks shots, and rebounds well, and when he’s focused, he’s one of the best on-ball defenders in the game. One of the most versatile defenders in the league, he can guard anyone from point guards to power forwards.
With LeBron and Dwyane Wade patrolling the perimeter, Miami is one of the stingiest teams in the league. Even with Mike Bibby’s corpse playing point and a bunch of mannequins rotating at center, the Heat rank fifth in Defensive Efficiency and tied for second in opponents' field goal percentage.
LeBron shouldn’t challenge for DPOY, but he will be in the discussion.
6. Dwyane Wade
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After discussing Miami’s team defensive prowess, why does Wade get the nod over LeBron? Wade isn’t necessarily a better defender than James; in fact, in a vacuum, LeBron probably has an edge.
However, D-Wade is a more important defender than LeBron. This Heat team is Wade’s team, first and foremost. He is the primary leader, the driving force behind Miami’s success. Since defense is predicated on effort and cohesiveness, Wade thusly gets the credit.
And as far as straight defense goes, Wade is no slouch. He can D up most swingmen, and he blocks shots better than most guards in NBA history.
Wade is a playmaker on both sides of the ball, and should be recognized as such.
5. Tyson Chandler
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While his statistics and measurables, 9.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, are not overly impressive, Tyson Chandler has succeeded where many others before him have failed: he has gotten the Dallas Mavericks to care about defense.
Believe it or not, Dirk and co., for years a squad that tried to outgun opponents with little awareness of stopping them (for which you can probably still blame Don Nelson), are playing hard on both ends of the ball.
For all of his shortcomings, Chandler has never lacked fire and passion, and Dallas has been the perfect place for him. They didn't ask him to be a star, a leader, or even a key piece. In fact, he was merely supposed to back up Brendan Haywood.
Without the weight of expectation, he has found his niche and thrived, inspiring his teammates to make defense a priority while cleaning up their offensive misses.
4. Joakim Noah
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To be honest, rookie coach Tom Thibodeau, former defensive guru for the Boston Celtics, might actually be the Chicago Bulls' defensive MVP. But he's not eligible for the award, and we have to put a Bull on the list, so Noah gets the nod.
Noah would be ranked higher - potentially even number one - if he hadn't missed 34 games due to injury. Still, he's third in the league in Defensive Rating, not to mention his role as the heart and soul of the best defense in the league.
While Derrick Rose has carried Chicago on offense and become an inspiring leader, Noah set the defensive tone for the Bulls early this season, and they've been able to maintain the shutdown play throughout.
Noah rebounds, blocks shots, takes charges, dives for loose balls, bangs in the post, rotates to the weakside, and works incredibly hard every single play. His energy and intensity is infectious, just like Rose's focus and will to win.
If the Bulls make a deep run in the playoffs, you can expect Noah and his wild hair to be firmly in the mix of things.
3. Kevin Garnett
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Almost 35 years old, Garnett amazingly just keeps it going. True, his offensive production has slipped over the past couple years, but the 2008 DPOY remains a stud on the side that "wins championships."
As I mentioned earlier, the Celtics are still a dominant defensive team, and the Big Ticket is still their lifeblood.
Everything that can be said - about his intensity, his desire, his length, his basketball IQ, his effort, his strength, his quickness, his anticipation, his motivation, his leadership - has already been said.
As important as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are, Boston wins the 2008 championship and challenges for another last year because of Garnett.
This season he is second, behind only Dwight Howard, in Defensive Rating and Defensive Win Shares. His name will surely again be discussed when hardware is being handed out.
2. Andrew Bogut
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Due to Milwaukee's poor record (33-47) and complete lack of exposure, Bogut's defensive prowess goes largely unnoticed.
How many of you out there know that he leads the league in blocks at 2.58 per game? Or that he sits fourth in Defensive Rating and tied for third in Defensive Win Shares? Or that the Bucks rank third in the league in points allowed (92.6) and fourth in Defensive Efficiency?
Milwaukee is a legitimate defensive juggernaut, and Bogut is the squad's anchor.
Unfortunately, they are putrid offensively. The Bucks are so bad, they couldn't hit Minneapolis from St. Paul.
They are last in the NBA in both points per game and Offensive Efficiency. Disappointing, considering this past offseason was spent locking up John Salmons and Corey Maggette, two offense-oriented guys.
Major League Baseball has recently started realizing that the Cy Young Award should not depend primarily on wins and losses, considering they often don't accurately reflect a pitcher's performance.
The NBA should do the same here and consider Bogut for DPOY. Unfortunately, the big Aussie and his 11.1 rebounds will probably be left in the dust.
1. Dwight Howard
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They don't call him Superman for nothing.
Whatever you want to say about his offensive game or his leadership capabilities, you cannot deny that he is truly transcendent on the defensive end.
He averages 14.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, essentially holding an otherwise feckless Magic team together on D.
Bill Simmons of ESPN put it beautifully in a recent article: He's an MVP candidate because Orlando finished fifth for defensive field goal percentage and second for rebound differential ... and he's the Magic's only rebounder and above-average defender. That's pretty amazing when you consider Orlando leads the league in "Guys Even Spectators Feel Like They Could Take Off The Dribble Or Post Up" (seven by my count).
Howard is the ultimate weakside defender, constantly atoning for his teammates' guarding deficiencies and mental slip-ups.
Dwight is your 2010-2011 DPOY, and he may have this award under lock and key for the foreseeable future.
